“……”

Sh*t! That sounded… kind of loaded, didn’t it?

What did he mean by “you’re here”?

Is this mysterious Eerie Nurturer waiting for Wu Ying?

How did he know Wu Ying would come at this time?

Or… does he already know Wu Ying’s soul has been replaced?

That the Wu Ying who came now is actually “Jiang Ye”?

A strange chill crept through Jiang Ye’s heart.

But on the surface, he still maintained Wu Ying’s demeanor, showing no signs of slipping.

According to Wu Ying’s personality from memory, he respectfully responded to the speaking skull:

“Senior, it’s me.”

This mysterious Eerie Nurturer had once been Wu Ying’s benefactor in his comeback.

So naturally, Wu Ying held both gratitude and respect for him.

Moreover, for Wu Ying, this Nurturer wasn’t just a benefactor.

There was another reason—

Wu Ying’s Phantasm Parasitism ability was also cursed and couldn’t advance.

He had pinned his hopes on this Nurturer, hoping he might help remove the curse on his Phantasm Parasitism.

Even after joining the Duoe Organization, Wu Ying would still visit from time to time, precisely for the curse issue.

Owing him a favor and needing something from him—of course, he had to be respectful.

This time, though, the skull didn’t say anything as creepy as before.

Instead, just like in Wu Ying’s memory, the left skull calmly uttered: “Come in.”

That said, the eerie door didn’t actually open.

But Jiang Ye’s expression stayed calm, and he walked straight toward it.

Sure enough, just like in Wu Ying’s memory—

His body passed right through the door!

And as he crossed it, he naturally saw the scene inside.

It was a shop even smaller than the staff dorms Wu Ying had stayed in at Duoe.

The room’s width looked to be just a little over two meters.

Its depth was unclear.

Because just over two meters in, a blood-red curtain hung down, blocking the view.

What Jiang Ye could see was about a 2×2 square meter space—just 4 square meters total.

Roughly the size of a regular bathroom.

On the left upon entry, there was a bathtub about half a meter wide, filled with dark red, eerie liquid.

On the right, an inverted L-shaped bookshelf connected to a bar counter.

The bookshelf was about 30cm wide and one meter long.

So in the just-over-two-meter width of the room, the actual passage was only about one meter wide.

The visitor’s activity space? Just that one narrow meter.

One meter ahead, the way was blocked by the bar counter.

An old man with a hunched figure was sitting on the other side.

According to Wu Ying’s memory—

This old guy seemed to have some physical ailment.

His back, apparently, couldn’t straighten.

His head, apparently, couldn’t lift.

From beginning to end, he maintained a 90-degree hunch, with his head bowed at 90 degrees.

Wu Ying had never seen his face.

Not even his lower body.

Because the bar counter covered it.

In past conversations, the old guy never came out from behind the counter either.

When Wu Ying talked to him, he could only see a pitch-black, rounded scalp.

Jiang Ye stared at that scalp, internally mumbling.

Thinking to himself, the guy doesn’t even have a single white hair—maybe he’s not actually that old.

Wu Ying called him “old man” only because his voice sounded weathered.

But really, Wu Ying knew very little about this “old man.”

Jiang Ye formed his own opinions.

But when he spoke, he still did his best to mimic Wu Ying’s usual style.

He stepped up to the counter, and addressed the round, pitch-black scalp:

“Senior, may I ask what you meant by ‘you’re here’ just now?”

“Did you… already know I’d come?”

The old man didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, that pitch-black round head suddenly spun 360 degrees like a machine.

It even made mechanical grinding noises as it turned.

Jiang Ye kept his expression calm, quietly waiting while the head spun several times, and then suddenly thumped down hard against the counter a few times.

It looked almost like he was kowtowing to Jiang Ye.

But it was more like some malfunctioning old machine, relying on a few knocks to barely keep running.

After a few knocks, it finally produced a normal, aged voice.

But instead of answering Jiang Ye’s question, it said in a calm voice:

“Just say what you came for. Why are you looking for me?”

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, then still maintained Wu Ying’s persona and spoke directly:

“To be honest, Senior, I’ve come today because I need a favor.”

“A friend I just made recently has a third-tier Glyph Pattern Ability, Gluttonous Body.”

“Right now, he’s trying to devour a Concept-Level Item to advance to the fourth tier.”

“But with his current strength, I’m afraid the devouring process won’t be easy.”

The Gluttonous Body Glyph Pattern Ability wasn’t that rare in the Doomsday Apartment.

Not as common as Fleshweaving, but still fairly seen.

For example, several ordinary members of the Duoe Organization had this ability.

Depending on the devoured item, its strength varied greatly.

Jiang Ye didn’t know much about Glyph Pattern Abilities before.

But after gaining Wu Ying’s memories, he understood.

Generally, the rarity of a Glyph Pattern Ability was determined by many factors.

But mainly—

How easy it was to obtain, how risky it was, and how much potential it had for growth.

Take Fleshweaving, for instance—it was everywhere because—

The eerie beings needed to nurture that ability were easy to raise;

The risk when acquiring it was very low, rarely leading to Eerie Transformation;

Most Eerie Nurturers knew how to awaken the ability;

And most importantly, it had decent growth potential.

Gluttonous Body was similar to Fleshweaving.

The difference was that it was riskier—but also offered higher rewards.

As long as the devoured item was powerful enough, the potential for growth far exceeded Fleshweaving.

But honestly, if there was no long-term Eerie Transformation,

That ability’s growth might end up completely stuck.

Just like the 1010 Administrator, who, out of greed, devoured an overly powerful item while still in the lower tiers.

That made advancement far more difficult.

To the point where, now, trying to devour a Concept-Level Weapon just to go from Tier 3 to Tier 4…

Honestly, what Jiang Ye was saying right now—if any ordinary Eerie Nurturer heard it, they’d think it was insane.

They might even curse and say—devouring a Concept-Level Weapon just to reach Tier 4? Then what are you gonna eat for Tier 5?? If you’re so damn good, why not go ahead and swallow the Moon Phase Clock??

What the hll, you planning to just camp at Tier 4 for life like a big shot?

However, this mysterious Eerie Nurturer didn’t show any of the shock or speechlessness Jiang Ye had expected.

He merely spun his head again, then calmly said:

“Concept-Level Weapon, huh… what color is it?”

“White? Black? Gold? Colorless?”

“It’s… black.” Jiang Ye answered with a steady expression, though his heart trembled slightly.

Judging by what this Nurturer said, Concept-Level Weapons are ranked by color?

In Wu Ying’s memory, Concept-Level Weapons were already out-of-reach myths.

He had no idea there was a ranking system for them.

And besides…

These four colors—why did they sound so familiar?

Right!

The Observer’s Prophecy ability also had Decrees in white, black, gold, and colorless!

So Concept-Level Weapons are categorized using the same four colors?

Then could the SSS-tier Prophecy be considered a Concept-Level Ability too?

What about Jiang Ye’s X-tier Infinite Replication?

Would that make it… beyond Concept-Level?

For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

And that mysterious Eerie Nurturer’s pitch-black head, like some emotionless machine, coldly continued:

“Is it black like a Void Rift?”

Jiang Ye nodded. “Yes.”

He figured that if it were a typical Eerie Nurturer, this was where the lecturing would begin.

Devouring something of that level at Tier 4 was basically throwing your future away!

Yet this mysterious Nurturer seemed to have no interest in worrying about others.

He simply spun his head a few more times and slowly said:

“A Concept-Level Item like that… is not easy to devour.”

“Following the normal process, at the very least, you’d need a Stellar-Tier Soul Guard Crystal, an Eternal-Tier Spatial Item, and a Concept-Level Page of Law…”

“And those materials are even more valuable than the Concept-Level Item your friend wants to devour.”

“Not to mention, can a mere Tier 3 Glyph Pattern Ability user even get their hands on those rare items? And if they could, would it even be worth it just to hit Tier 4?”

“……”

Jiang Ye had known that devouring a Concept-Level Weapon with Gluttonous Body would be tough.

But he hadn’t expected it to be this tough!

And the real kicker—

The Concept-Level Item he wanted to devour had a time limit!

Paying such a huge price just to temporarily reach pseudo-Tier 4, only to drop back down at any time afterward…

That’s just a total loss, isn’t it?

Of course, the biggest problem—

He couldn’t get any of those Stellar or Eternal-Tier items right now!

Even if he could in the future, the Entropy Scythe wouldn’t last that long!

So this so-called “normal process” was a complete no-go—he wasn’t even considering it.

Instead, he lowered his voice and asked the pitch-black scalp:

“Senior, I’m guessing you already figured this, but my friend probably can’t afford the normal path.”

“I came on his behalf to ask—is there any unconventional method… that comes at a lower cost?”

As expected, the next thing he heard was the Nurturer’s reminder:

“Same old rule—the lower the cost, the higher the risk.”

Jiang Ye nodded quickly. “Yes, I’ve already warned my friend. He said he’s willing to take on higher risks!”

After that, the pitch-black scalp spun a few more mechanical turns.

And finally let out a sigh: “Difficult…”

Jiang Ye frowned.

Then the scalp slowly continued:

“If your friend truly fears no risk, he can try to devour it directly…”

Devour it directly?

Jiang Ye perked up.

But then came the follow-up:

“Devour it directly, die directly—everyone’s happy.”

“……”

What the hll?

Are you seriously screwing with me right now??

“If he still wants a sliver of hope to survive…”

“Then maybe… find someone with an SSS-tier Spatial Ability, or a Ninth-Tier Spatial Glyph Pattern Ability…”

“Use a top-tier spatial ability to devour the black Concept-Level Weapon out of thin air.”

Top-tier spatial ability…

Easier said than done.

According to Wu Ying’s memory, such a level of spatial ability didn’t even exist in the Doomsday Apartment!

Back when Wu Ying was with the Asura Organization, he’d heard veteran players say—

The rarest Elemental Ability in the entire Doomsday Apartment was Light-type.

Second to that was Spatial.

And as for Time, it didn’t exist at all.

Even Spatial Abilities only went up to S-tier at most.

Obtaining and upgrading spatial-type Glyph Pattern Abilities was ridiculously hard.

Forget Ninth-Tier—even Seventh-Tier didn’t exist!

So this Eerie Nurturer… was totally trolling him, wasn’t he?!

Jiang Ye was thinking just that, when suddenly—an idea sparked!

Wu Ying’s memories were all centered around the Doomsday Apartment.

So maybe there really was no such top-tier spatial ability there.

But what about… the Apartment Trader in the Beginner Apartment?

According to what the White-Clad Woman had said, the mysterious Trader from the Beginner Apartment supposedly had top-tier spatial ability!

With that thought, Jiang Ye’s eyes gleamed, and he tested the waters by asking the pitch-black head:

“But as far as I know, the Doomsday Apartment has no one with that kind of spatial ability…”

“I wonder, would the mysterious Trader who wanders through the Beginner Apartment meet your requirements?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep